Uphill struggle ahead to make youth social action the norm
Howard Williamson
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Howard Williamson warns it will be an uphill struggle to make youth social action the norm.
In every discussion of youth issues and youth policy, at every level, in every corner of Europe, the default position descends on the question of youth participation and its bedfellows: influence, autonomy, citizenship and action. The latter divides conveniently between political and community action; every time we bemoan the apparent lack of interest or engagement by young people in formal politics, expressing anxiety about the "democratic deficit", we celebrate simultaneously their sustaining commitment to single issue movements (such as the environment or animal rights) and their too often unheralded contribution to local community life.
In truth, we actual know very little in terms of facts about these things and the balance between them. There may certainly be a disengagement from and loss of trust in mainstream politics, but beyond that the levels of activity in which young people are involved, let alone their frequency and intensity, are little known or understood.
But now we have a reputable, credible and instructive baseline of information through the recent Ipsos MORI survey conducted on behalf of the Cabinet Office - under the banner of the #iwill campaign being run by Step Up To Serve - as part of the process of achieving the goal of making social action the norm among young people in the UK by 2020.
Launched at the end of November, the survey of 2,000 10- to 20-year-olds provides an illuminative, mixed and comprehensive set of findings, from which I will extract some of the more salient points. Knocking out approaching 20 per cent of young people who have done something, but hardly anything, in terms of "social action" in the past 12 months, the other four-fifths divide almost down the middle between those engaged in what the survey calls "meaningful social action" and those who have done nothing at all.
Young people recognise benefits both to themselves and to others from a range of involvement, stimulated largely through family and friends, or school and college. Fun is perceived to be a key dimension of social action, both for young people themselves and for the beneficiaries of that action. Fun was, indeed, almost twice as important as the skills acquired or transmitted.
Those young people already involved in social action are very likely to continue: 80 per cent are very likely or certain to undertake more social action in the next 12 months, and even most of the rest are fairly likely to do so. In stark contrast, however, only a fifth of those who have not been involved in social action are very likely or certain to engage in social action in the coming year. The others appear largely to be uncertain; few say they definitely will not. And this is the challenge for Step Up To Serve if social action by young people is to become the norm.
The data on non-participation, past, present and future convey a mixed message for policy and practice. The door is ajar, but the motivation of non-participants to embark on social action appears lukewarm. And there are many reasons for not having taken part. Some, such as not having enough time, disinterest and friends who are also doing "nothing", will continue to present significant barriers to participation in social action. Equally, though, other reasons given for non-engagement - a lack of awareness, an absence of access routes, limited opportunities - help to frame new strategic directions for promoting volunteering and community involvement. Indeed, the Ipsos MORI survey points to "clear routes" for encouraging greater participation in social action by young people.
We all know, almost intuitively, that volunteering, one way or another, is a good thing all round. The spectrum of contribution made through youth social action is as wide as the spectrum of benefits accrued. But at a time when other pathways of transition, notably in the labour market, are dramatically blocked, more sceptical young people may find the call to action tantamount to taking the proverbial: unable to find work, they are now being cajoled to "work" for nothing. Others will find the demands of studies and family responsibilities so overbearing that they are, literally, disabled from taking part. So, sensitivities to diverse perspectives and positions will need to be the order of the day.
Nevertheless, the good news is that the survey does not point to any deep recalcitrance among any groups of young people to take part. The even better news is that approaching half of young people are already admirably engaged.
Howard Williamson is Professor of European youth policy at the University of South Wales